How can tailing ponds be rehabilitated to lessen the effects of hazardous chemicals on plant populations?

 There are many ways to lessen the effects or, hiding a tailing pond. The main way to rehabilitate tailing ponds from hazardous materials is to neutralize the chemical with limestone and superphosphate. The contents of a tailing pond is sent to a treatment facility to ‘clean’ it. When they are in the tailing pond they add water to make it subaqueous, which reduces oxidation of sulfide minerals. Luckily, for the environment, tailing ponds aren't so far from the mine. They use excess non-acid generating rock to build the tailing pond nearby and line it with a layer of geomembran, a synthetic material, to which stops leakage into the environment or the soil beneath. Water is usually added to tailing ponds. What do they do with the water, you may ask ^ Well they either actively or passively treat the water. Actively makes the water more basic to clean tailing ponds to create precipitates in the solution. After processing and using it many times, they can release it into the environment, but it is expensive. Passive treatment lets the environment clean the water by using plants and insects, it is cheaper. Most companies do a combination of both to protect the environment. To process gold, aqueous cyanide is used and is then hydrolyzed where it decomposes into less toxic compounds. This reaction is due to its effect with UV rays from the sun. When this process occurs, it is kept in an enclosed environment.

Other ideas are used to protect the environment from tailing ponds. In Alberta, in 2010 they tried to use a geotextile to cover the tailing pond during the winter to build a series of roads. In Greece, a rehabilitation process is going on where they have a 26.5 hectare land of a tailing pond. They are doing the rehabilitation process and as the process goes on they add plants that could thrive in the environmental conditions, and adapt to the contamination. A conceptual plan was also made up of processing tailing ponds material back into the environment and adding new soil to create a healthy pasture. Once the pH gets between 5 and ten, they can introduce worms, plants, trees, and animals to the area.

Geosynthetics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 30, 2020, from https://www.layfieldgroup.com/Geosynthetics/Project-Profiles/Tailings-Pond-Rehabilitation.aspx

LECTURE 4: MINING WASTE. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.sgu.se/en/geointro/lecture-4-mining-waste/

Rehabilitation in Action: From Tailings Ponds to Green Space in Greece. (2020, July 13). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://blog.eldoradogold.com/rehabilitation-in-action-from-tailings-ponds-to-green-space-in-greece/

Waihi Gold. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.waihigold.co.nz/sustainability/environment/rehabilitation/rehabilitation-from-tailings-to-pasture-plantings-and-ponds/

In what ways do toxic chemical fires affect local communities?

 Was the chemicals from a fire or just a by-product of a plant or storage facility. In Houston, there is a petrochemical terminal which affects people around a 2 mile radius from the area. Noxious gases, and heavy metals are released into the air. It was said that there is a higher chance of having leukemia being in the radius. They call this zone of unsafety the sacrifice zone. In 1992, a circuit board manufacturing facility burned and released a thick black smoke into the air for about 8 hours. If you think about it, everything that burns/combusts must follow the law of conservation of mass. Meaning that there are thousand little particles that could be flying around that in reality is the same mass as a couch. Most particles are carcinogenic. Effects of breathing these substances included asthma, blurred vision, hearing loss, hair loss, rashes and numbness in the body. In 2014, an LA port burned down causing treated wood of various sizes were scattered across the waters. Toxic gases were released into the air from the combustion of the treated wood; releasing benzene, naphthalene, which did not read on a monitoring device, and was more then 100 parts per billion. The average in this area of typical naphthalene levels is o.o5 ppb. The effect made many evacuate from dozens of LA cities and Orange counties. One main relationship between many of these situations is the rebuild. Think of any recent disaster. The worst part for most is the destruction of their living space. Most people do not think about the health concerns linked to toxic chemical fires where dioxins can be released and could potentially affect any part of your body. Dioxins are essentially catalysts for carcinogens. Plus, there is no such thing as a safe level of dioxins. Once they are released into the environment, it must be monitored frequently. There are many consequences to chemical fire, such as health concerns, air pollution, water pollution, environmental defects and destruction. 

(n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://apha.confex.com/apha/128am/techprogram/paper_3909.htm

Addressing Toxic Smoke Particulates in Fire Restoration. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://theredguidetorecovery.com/recovery-stories/addressing-toxic-smoke-particulates-in-fire-restoration-2/

Barboza, T. (2014, September 26). Port of L.A. fire cleanup: Effects of toxic chemical releases studied. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-port-la-fire-air-quality-20140926-story.html

Toney, H., Moms Clean Air Force, & Ziff, A. (2019, April 18). Fires and Chemicals: A Toxic and Deadly Mix. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://www.momscleanairforce.org/fires-chemicals-toxic-pollution/

 80+ Caribou Illegally Slaughtered in the Northwest Territories in Less Than 2 Weeks

The Northern Indigenous populations are outraged at finding carcasses and wasted resources among more than 80 illegally killed caribou.

Caribou Slaughtered

 Edwin Victor Cook

This First Nations Soldier had to give up his heritage to serve our country. He was a brave man who died in service.

The Military Life of Edwin Victor Cook

 Krill Overfishing and The Ecological Impact

Krill Harvesting in the Southern Ocean is Having Negative Ecological Effects

Krill Overfishing

 Sunscreen is Damaging our Aquatic Ecosystems:

Chemicals in sunscreens are negatively affecting our water ecosystems.

Article on The Effects of Sunscreen on Aquatic Ecosystems

Hope For Our Oceans

Scientists are testing an enzyme that could be used to deal with the problem of plastic in our oceans. I really hope it works!

Plastic Eating Enzyme